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Archive | February 2017

Everyone that knows me, knows I wear lip gloss almost all the time. It is very rare that I wear a lipstick. And even if I wear lipstick, you will surely see me putting on lip gloss on top of it. I have very dry lips and I stick to lip gloss because they can mask the dryness of my lips and a lot of them are moisturizing and they feel good on the lips. There isn’t a lot of lipsticks that can do the same job, at least I haven’t come across them yet.

So last year I entered into a contest with makeup forever when they were launching their rouge artist collection. I was so excited when I won, but at the same time I was really nervous because I wasn’t sure if I could wear them at all. I won 6 of these beautiful lipsticks to try and I have to say I love them. Like I really love them.

It’s one of the few lipsticks I can wear comfortably and forget that it’s there. They are moisturizing, but yet light weight, because some lipsticks can feel heavy if you want that added moisture. They are fairly long wearing (4-6hours) without having to reapply and they don’t have that stiff and dry feeling like some long lasting lipsticks. The pigments are beautiful and bold. What you see in the tube is what you get on your lips. They also come in matte and satin shades.

I will use about half of them, but the bolder and fun shades, I will leave that to the bold beauties out there who can wear them a lot better than I can. I don’t mind trying new colors out, but the deep blue I think is just not for me. I am going to give you a few tips on finding the right lip shade just for you. This is just a loosely based guideline on how to find the right shade. Whatever you end up choosing has to make you feel good and look good too.

For a smooth lip, exfoliate with a soft bristle toothbrush or a lip polish like the one from fresh beauty

If you want the exact color in the tube, use your foundation to wipe out all color from lips. The natural hue of lips can disturb color of lipstick

For more staying power line your lips and paint them with your lip liner before applying lipstick

If you found the perfect lip color but can’t seem to find the matching lip liner, find a lip liner that matches your lips closely so it won’t ruin the color of the lipstick. Or find a clear lip liner that will go with everything like the Dior universal contour lip liner.

I hope this helps you on your journey to finding that perfect color. Till next week beauties.

Over the holidays, I had some products on my wish list that I wanted to try. One because I was running out of my other ones and 2 because I’m always on the lookout for products that I’ve never tried before and from lines that I’ve never used from before either. So here is a beauty review on three new products to me.

Ole Henriksen grease relief wipes

I’ve only tried a couple of products from this botanical line and I’ve enjoyed using them so far. I’m even more comfortable now that I know that the owner himself had severe acne when he was younger and what saved his skin was natural products and that is why he developed this beautiful line you see today.

I myself recently got into natural products and when I finished my face wipes, I decided to get these and I was honestly surprised and happy that these wipes contain so many ingredients that help with problem. It almost felt like putting on skincare, but it’s just a wipe!

So this wipe has a smooth side and a rough side for mild exfoliation. Which oily skin needs because it produces extra sebum and mix that with sweat and makeup, you need a deep clean. The ingredients that help with oily skin are witch hazel to absorb excess oil and it has antiseptic benefits. Aloe leaf which aids in healing and soothing the skin. Lactic and fruit acids to help get rid of dead skin cells and gently exfoliate. And eucalyptus help get rid of the bacteria that causes large and unclogged pores. It’s literally like a mini treatment for your face. The only thing for me is that the smell of eucalyptus was really strong, but it did disappear quickly. But again I am sensitive to strong smells and that’s just me, because I do layer skincare and makeup products, I just don’t want to have all of them smelling so strong, otherwise that is all I will be smelling all day.

Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist

This past fall/winter I started noticing my skin was getting dehydrated and it felt rough and looked uneven, hence the balancing mist. This is my first ever product I’ve used from this Australian line. This line farms and makes their products in house. Most if not all the products are made from flowers, because certain ones do different things for the skin. And they are mostly natural.

As much as I would love to give a glowing review, it didn’t really live up to my expectations. I mean it wasn’t that bad, it did balance out my skin after I washed it. But the smell was too much. It didn’t go away for a while, so that’s all I could smell all day, so I only use it at night. Plus the second ingredient is alcohol. Everyone knows that alcohol dries out skin. And it’s kind of baffling to see it in a product that is mostly natural. Let alone a product that is supposed to hydrate and put moisture back into the skin.

My review: It is okay. It still does the job, but again I only use it at night, because when I did use it morning and night, it felt strange and tight afterwards and I wasn’t sure why. It won’t deter me from using other products from the line in the future, but I won’t purchase this one again.

Fresh Sugar lip Advanced Treatment in Lip Balm and Nouishing Lip Balm

I have tried a few skincare products from this company and they worked well and I used one of the tinted lip balm in berry. I have to say that tinted lip balm was superb! So if these treatments were going to be just as good if not better well I was wrong. They are even better than the tinted balm. They are antiaging too. And that is great, especially for the lip area. My lips are constantly dry and I’m always putting something on them to keep the moisturized, so I’m always looking for the next best thing. This lip care not only sugar (of course) to keep moisture in. But it has orange extract as an antioxidant, mango butter and hyaluronic acid for moisture and sea fennel for ant aging.

So what I do is I used the lip treatment in stick format during the day under my lip gloss and I wear the nourishing one in the tub at night. My lips have never felt and looked better before using these 2 products. Even after I have something to eat or drink and I think I need to reapply the treatment before the lip gloss, I don’t. I still feel it there and in a heavy or waxy way. Just that my lips are protect and I don’t have to worry about reapply it every 5 minutes. A little does go a long way and it the actual product lasts awhile, which I love because I go through lip care too quickly. Its been awhile since I’ve found a lip care I’m happy with and I honestly am happy with this one.

I hope you found these reviews helpful. I will see you next week my beauties!

Why do I have 2 foundations? Why not? Doesn’t every woman have that? Or am I just a makeup junkie? Well maybe a bit of a junkie. But here is my excuse. It’s because on my days off, I don’t want to wear a lot of stuff on my face. Here is my reviews on my 2 current foundations.

Guerlain Terracotta Jolie Teint

I’ve only used a few tinted moisturizers and this is my favorite. It has s.p.f. 20, which is enough for my oily skin and very light weight. It doesn’t make my skin have that weird, heavy feeling when wearing it all day, but it still keeps my skin hydrated throughout the day. Sometimes I don’t have to wear anything underneath it, so it makes my routine on my days off so simple. I just put some bronzer on top of it to give me a nice glow, also by Guerlain and I’m set for the day. A tinted moisturizer that protects, hydrates and so lightweight and gives me the perfect coverage for my oily skin. I’m so in love.

Dior Airflash Foundation

By far this is my absolute favorite foundation, it’s not a foundation that has those vitamins or antiaging properties. But yet, it gives you medium to full coverage, it can be used on all skin types and It blends so easily into the skin. It’s just one of those foundations that is a foundation in its simplest forms. Put simply: it’s just a foundation and it is fucking awesome!!! Plus, most if not all make up products that you see in-store are actually used on the runaway.

There are several different ways to put this foundation on. But to get its full effect of it, I use a face and body brush, so it’s puffy and big. (Dior also sells a brush specifically for this foundation just in case you wanted to know). I spray directly onto brush and go in circular motions on the face. This way, it helps to blend in easily and buffs the skin a bit to give it a glow. Or I use a multi-purpose brush that is flat on top, but still thick, and spray directly on it too and it gives me fuller coverage by using this brush.

And for the ones who want to be daring, you can also spray directly on the face. You can use a normal foundation brush for this, but any foundation brush you choose is fine as well. Make sure you wear a headband, so hair stays out of the way. Shake bottle, and do little spritzes a time. Regardless, it’s going on your lids, your lips, brows etc. After your done spraying, it’s just blend, blend, blend! I don’t do it this way anymore, because it just took too much time and also very wasteful of the product.

That is the age old question. At least in the cosmetic world. There is no right or wrong answer, just how you go about using them and using them correctly.
Using your fingers will give you a more natural, finished look. The key to doing this properly is by not rubbing too hard on your skin while putting it on. A soft touch and sweeping upwards with your fingers will make the makeup blend easily onto the skin. This method is also good after a long day of work and you need to touch up before going out to dinner and there is no brush in sight to do that. Just make sure your hands are clean.
Sponges are great. You just have to stay on top of them. Like if they start smelling funny or the texture feels off, because of the makeup building up on them, just wash them or toss them. Put a little foundation on the sponge and sweep outwards toward the hairline to blend seamlessly onto skin. And pat lightly where ever you need extra coverage. I do use them on occasion when I am using highlighters (liquid or powder) or if I want extra shine, dabbing on glitter.
When it comes to brushes for foundations, there are a few to choose from. It all depends on what finish you like and also what type of foundation. Generally, you would use the typical, basic foundation brush for foundations that you pump or pour out. I use this brush for my tinted moisturizer by Guerlain. But for a spray foundation, like the Dior airflash, you want a face and body brush, because they tend to be bigger and denser then the usual blush brush. Or a flat and thick headed foundation brush, that way you can spray the foundation on it and sweep it on.

So with that said, I personally use a brush and I’ve always favored them. Why? Because I have oily skin and with oily skin usually comes breakouts. So I do tend to be careful with what I put on my skin. But when someone told me years ago that sponges can keep bacteria in it, which therefore can lead to more breakouts, I was like “Goodbye” and switched over to brushes.
And one more tip. If you are using brushes, try to clean them regularly, as they also have buildup too. You can use baby shampoo, which is great and gentle on brushes. Or you can even purchase the thousands of brush cleaners on the market. This is the one I currently use. Sephora cleansing brush (See picture below)